The following is reposted from the AAUP website: On November 13, 2015, the AAUP filed with the American Federation of Teachers an amicus brief before the US Supreme Court arguing that the payment of agency fees by non-members in collective bargaining unions to support union representation is constitutional. The case started when the plaintiffs, sponsored…
This is the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Campus Faculty Association statement on the Steven Salaita settlement with the University of Illinois. The CFA, which has pursued with vigor and determination the right to organise the entire University of Illinois faculty into a union, has previously commented on the AAUP investigation and censure. The following statement on the…
The growing trend toward secret presidential searches and the emerging tendency of governing boards to appoint corporate executives or politicians with no experience in higher education has gained considerable attention on this blog (see for examples the University of Iowa and the University of Missouri, the latter with well-known disastrous consequences). One recent example is…
Bruce Joshua Miller and Ned Stuckey-French have written a splendid piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education that provides further perspective on the recent events at the University of Missouri, most specifically their connection with broader disturbing trends in higher education. The entire piece deserves a reading, but here are some pertinent excerpts: Timothy Wolfe…
“For the life of me, I don’t know why we have stigmatized vocational education. Welders make more money than philosophers. We need more welders and less philosophers.” That was Sen. Marco Rubio at last night’s Republican presidential debate. Let’s ignore that Rubio apparently doesn’t know when to use “less” and when to use “fewer.” (I’m…
Anyone who thought that minority student complaints about racism at the University of Missouri, which led to the resignations on Monday of system President Timothy Wolfe and Columbia campus Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, were exaggerated should check out this account of developments over the past two days from the campus newspaper, The Maneater. “Many students…
Yesterday’s stunning events at the University of Missouri must be viewed in the context of a much broader movement, led by minority students, to confront persistent racism at many college and university campuses. Even as the movement at Missouri was gathering steam, a similar conflict was brewing at one of the nation’s oldest and most…
I’ve been watching with dismay the coverage of the incident yesterday where University of Missouri professor Melissa Click asked, “Who wants to help me get this reporter out of here? I need some muscle over here.” To me, she seems to have moved from supporting the student protesters (which I applaud) who had created a tent…
We shouldn’t send bureaucrats and accountants to manage our wars. When we do (as happened in Iraq and even Vietnam), disaster follows. Military victory comes at the hands of those who know how to fight. Those who rise through military ranks learn, in addition, the needs and possibilities of their organizations. They neither place unrealistic…
According to today’s News-Gazette, the University of Illinois trustees are scheduled to vote this Thursday on a settlement with Professor Steven Salaita. Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson informed the Senate Executive Committee of the news late this afternoon. Click here for the agenda of Thursday’s trustees’ meeting. Item #21–“Authorize Settlement (Salaita v. Kennedy et al.)”–is at the bottom of page…